1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to sailboat batten attachments and more specifically to batten attachments which have multiple axes of rotation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mainsails with multiple full-length battens (full battens) have been used on certain high performance sailboats, particularly multihulls for many years. Battens are strips of fiberglass, foam, wood or combination thereof, which slip into pockets sewn into the sail. The battens quiet the sail (prevent flogging) in high wind or head to wind conditions and thereby increase the sail life. They also aid in retaining the sail's shape in a variety of wind conditions.
Recently, sail makers have been touting the benefits of full battens for monohull cruising boats. The battens are installed in a horizontal, parallel configuration. This allows the sail to be quickly released downward and stacked on the boom.
However, the use of full battens has its disadvantages. There has been a historic problem with sail wear and failure in the vicinity of the lead edge of the battens. This results from the high compression and the side loads that the battens impart to the leading edge of the batten pocket. In virtually all commercial full batten sail construction, two very strong elements (the mast and the batten) are essentially connected by much weaker materials (sailcloth and/or nylon tape). Even with strong reinforcement and batten pocket end caps, the weaker materials eventually break down near the forward end of the batten pocket, resulting in wear and outright failure.
There is another disadvantage to existing attachment methods. They do not provide adequate articulation for the batten as the sail is being hoisted or lowered. This can cause the attached mast track slide to bind and make hoisting and lowering difficult.
It is known in the prior art to provide hinged connectors between masts and sail booms. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,522,786 by Maurice Rendell-Clark and 3,749,042 by Patrick Jackson, both show mast-to-boom connectors. However, these allow limited movement and do not provide the proper connections to be useful as batten attachments. There is a need for a batten-to-mast attachment which is strong, rigid, and which provides for multiple directions of rotation.